Stocks sank further after a Wall Street Journal report said the US is expected to deploy 3,000 troops from the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Brigade within hours.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) declined 0.2%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell 0.3% and 0.8%, respectively.

The written order to deploy units is expected within hours, according to the report. No decision has been made on deploying boots on the ground, officials said.

Oil, which had opened more than 4% higher on Tuesday morning, remained elevated in afternoon trading.

Circle (CRCL) tanked as much as 19% on Tuesday, the most on record, and a sharp reversal from its recent rally.

The catalyst for the sharp decline was unclear, though overnight reports pointed to developments surrounding the Clarity Act, a bill that may restrict yield offerings on stablecoins.

According to an internal stakeholder cited by Crypto America, the proposal would prohibit platforms from offering yield “directly or indirectly” for holding a stablecoin or in a manner that resembles a bank deposit.

Bank reps were set to review the text on Tuesday, according to the report.

The Clarity Act, which aims to lay out rules for which federal agency oversees what portions of the crypto markets, has struggled to pass through Congress. A key point of contention has been surrounding whether crypto platforms should be able to pay customers “yield,” or interest on their stablecoin balances, which threatens banks.

Circle has been on a tear in recent weeks, rallying from around $60 in late February to $130 just last week, or roughly 110%.

Expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady have helped buoy the stock. Circle makes much of its revenue from interest on reserves backing its stablecoin USDC (USDC-USD).

Other crypto stocks also sank on Tuesday, with shares of trading platform Coinbase (COIN) down 8%.

Bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) bottom may be in, almost half a year after tumbling from its all-time highs, according to Bernstein analysts.

“We believe Bitcoin has found its trough and is now heading higher,” Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani wrote on Monday. The firm reaffirmed its $150,000 price target for the end of 2026.

The token, which has outperformed gold during the Middle East conflict, was trading near $70,000 on Tuesday. Bernstein’s Chhugani points out that bitcoin ETF outflows seen at the start of the year have reversed, with ETFs today holding roughly 6.1% of the total supply.

The analyst also noted that the token’s “market structure” has matured compared to earlier cycles, when the token experienced boom-and-bust retail flows.

Additionally, digital asset Treasury giant Strategy (MSTR) has remained resilient and acted as a strong buyer. Strategy currently holds roughly 3.6% of all supply,

“Strategy acts as the ‘Bitcoin bank of last resort’ and Bitcoin ETFs are attracting more resilient (and less speculative) source of capital,” Chhugani wrote.

The war in Iran is “incomparable” with any past oil shock in both its scale and its wide-ranging impact on the energy market, BP (BP) chief economist Gareth Ramsay said in comments at an industry event on Tuesday.

“I don’t think you really compare this with any disruption in the past … there’s been no disruption of this scale,” Ramsay said at CERAWeek by S&P Global, a major energy conference. The disruption of the Strait of Hormuz is “every analyst’s study piece or worst nightmare that we thought could never happen.”

Since the war began, futures on international oil benchmark Brent crude (BZ=F) have gained roughly 40%, while those on US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CL=F) have picked up more than 30%.

As the war has entered its fourth week, the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, choking off roughly 15 million to 16 million barrels per day of oil from the market, and attacks on key energy infrastructure have disrupted refineries throughout the Gulf.

It’s unlikely that the market will be able to respond quickly enough with new supply, given the weeks- or months-long timelines to launch new production, Ramsay said. “The country with the capacity to bring new production online quickly is on the wrong side of Hormuz,” he added, referring to Saudi Arabia.

While the shock of the conflict is immediately evident in the commodities markets, disrupting the flow of everything from natural gas to fertilizer and helium, the war is also likely to curtail global growth through the ripple effect of rising energy prices.

A 10% rise in oil prices might reduce global economic growth by 0.1% to 0.2%, Ramsay said. A 30% to 40% rise in prices, like the market is now staring down now, could cut a full 1% of global growth, which would represent a “significant global slowdown,” Ramsay said on Tuesday.

There’s a bright spot in Tesla’s (TSLA) core auto sales, with a slight reversal of fortune in greater Europe.

According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Tesla electric vehicle registrations (a proxy for sales) in Europe rose to 17,664 units in February, an 11.8% gain compared to a year ago. In January, sales dipped 17%, the last month of a losing streak that had been ongoing since December 2024.

While this February saw a sales jump, it came against a weak February in 2025. Last year, Tesla’s European sales tumbled 27%.

Tesla’s recent losing streak occurred against the backdrop of rising EV sales in the greater Europe region. Total EV registrations in the region, which includes the UK and the European Free Trade Association, rose 15.8% in February, with overall registrations regardless of powertrain up only 1.7%.

While EV sales have slumped somewhat in the US, cheap EVs and hybrids are flourishing in the EU, especially from Chinese automakers like BYD and Li Auto, as buyers across the pond embrace Asian imports.

Read more here.

Smithfield Foods’ (SFD) stock rose 4% before the bell on Tuesday following the board’s raising of the pork producer’s quarterly dividend by 25%, to 31.25 cents from 25 cents.

Gilead Sciences (GILD) stock edged higher on Tuesday during premarket hours after it agreed to acquire the privately held biotech Ouro Medicines.

Apollo Global Management (APO) shares fell 2% after a private credit fund capped withdrawals at 5%.

Jefferies Financial Group’s (JEF) stock rose 9% before the bell on Tuesday following news that Japan’s second-largest lender, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, (SMFG) is working on plans for a possible takeover of Jefferies.

The FT reports:

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Estée Lauder (EL) announced on Tuesday its plan to acquire the Spanish beauty group Puig Brand (B1B.F), according to reports in the Wall Street Journal. Puig Frankfurt listed shares rose 8% before the bell today following the news.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Read more here.

Yahoo Finance’s senior reporter Jennifer Schonberger reports:

Read more here.